3. Alice

The car ride on the way home was quite. Remarkably so.Mom sat teary eyes in the front seat trying to hold in the blood until we got home.

I had suggested to the rest of the band that they go ahead and go to the after-party without me, because I had other things that I needed to do.

We arrived home in silence. After putting all of my stuff away and resetting the practice studio with all of our equipment, I slipped into the living room to find my mom lying on the couch, a paper towel under her head to catch the crimson tears that were falling from her eyes.

I sighed and walked over to the sliding glass door to open it, and then gathered her into my arms, but not before putting the paper towel on my shoulder so that I wouldn’t get the $3000 halter top that had been loaned to me bloody.

It seems slightly backwards. Shouldn’t the mother comfort the daughter over boy problems? Shouldn’t I be crying on her shoulder because I say my crush kissing someone else? Then again I had never been one for romance or love.

True love didn’t exist. Edward Cullen had proven that to me.

She cried for a few moments uncontrollably, before finally stopping enough to breath, and attempt to speak.

“Hold… on one…*sob*… moment.”

She slipped out of my arms, and disappeared into her room for a few seconds only to return with a small slip of well worn paper in her hands.

I glanced at it quickly before meeting her eyes with a confused expression. She sighed and began to hand it to me, but pulled her hand back quickly and sat down beside me again. I removed the paper towel from my shoulder now that I was sure that she was done crying for now.

She took a few moments to gather her thoughts before she faced me to explain.“I know that I told you about Edward…”She winced, and a flash of protectiveness tunneled through my body. No one would ever hurt like that again. Not if I had anything to say about it, and trust me, I would.

The next time I saw that jerk I was going to squeeze his balls off with a pair of barbeque tongs.

“And about my life in Forks, before. But what I didn’t tell you… what I didn’t tell anyone.” She amended quickly.

“Is that Edward,” wince “had written me a note that I found sitting on the bed. I don’t know he had ever intended on giving it to me, but I found it anyway, and I read it, and it was the main reason I left, not because he was at Danie’s that night. We could have worked that out.”

She had made me curious now.“Here.” She held it out to me and I took it.It said:

Dear Bella,

I know that I told you that Danie would never get any part of me. That I was all yours. I lied. I fell in love with someone else. I did love you, Bella. Really I did. I’m not trying to discredit my feelings toward you at all, but my feelings for Danie were stronger. I haven’t changed her. I don’t intend to. Because I love her. I so very sorry Bella. If I had known that this would happen I would have given you fairer warning so that you didn’t have to find out this way. I know that this is horrible. I can not even believe that I am doing this. But I want you to know that I did love you, and that I don’t want you to suffer the way that I know you would otherwise. Sincerely,

Edward

P.S. you can leave if you want. I’m kind of expecting it. Feel free to take whatever it is that you want. What is mine is yours. I loved you. I still do in a weird way. I just love Danie more.

I finished reading, half trying to absorb what he said that other half in love with his handwriting. I had big bubbly hand writing that looked like something on a high school note with little hearts over all the I’s. He had beautiful calligraphy that looked as though it had taken his 3 hours to write, but which realistically probably took his all of 3 seconds.

I turned to look at her. She was sitting silently, eyes wide, looking over my shoulder at the sliding glass doors. “Mom, what is it?”Her head snapped to mine, and then I heard it… soft rustling of leaves, and whisper so light that I could scarcely hear it.

“Bella?”Mom started to get up as if the voice where a rope pulling her out of her seat. I grabbed her arm, yanking her back down. She looked at me like I had just stabbed her. I shook my head.

“I’ll do it.” I mouthed the words so lightly that no one could have possibly heard it unless they had been inches from my mouth.Her eyes looked pained, but she signed in resignation, and I stood up and quietly stood up and walked through the open sliding glass door.

“Who is there?” I whispered.There was a slight unnatural breeze, and suddenly as small black hair doll was standing in front of me. She looked taken aback and took a moment to blink before speaking.

“Oh!” Her voice --laced with surprise-- was like bells and her eyes shimmered. “You look just like her.”

“Can I help you, Alice?” I asked my tone slightly icy. I wasn’t necessarily mad at her, but more at her brother. “You are so beautiful.” She was still in shock in seemed. I smiled, trying hard no to laugh at her expression. It was priceless. She looked as me as if I were a dream.

“You have a lot of your father in you, too.” She mumbled. I growled.“Only physically, I’m nothing like him otherwise, and if I were I would fix it or kill myself. I don’t want any part of him in me.” I snarled. “Well. I should have known that you would be mad you have every right to be.”

“Damn right, I do.” I said.

She laughed brightly, and stuck out her hand. “I’m Alice, and you are Christine.”

“Physic.”

“I was there when you were born.”

“I know.”

“Then why…?”

“I was kidding Alice.”

“Oh.” She pondered that for a moment.

She suddenly became timid and shy. “May I come in?”...I sighed.

Mom was going to have to face them sooner or later, and realistically sooner was better.

I nodded, and began to lead the way, until I felt her hand slide into mine. I stopped for a moment to look back at her, but she just smiled at me content.I pulled her into the house, and through the living room towards that kitchen where I knew that mom would be fixing my dinner.

“Mo…” I started to say as we walked in, but was cut short as Alice hand was ripped from mine, and she flew backwards, in my mother’s arms.

Bella’s POV

It seemed so queer, but the moment that I saw Alice’s face, the roles from 34 years ago were reversed.

I was suddenly throwing her to the ground in an effort to touch her. With a shriek I was in her arms touching everywhere my hands could reach in disbelief. Was she really here in my house?

After 34 years of life with no reminders of them I had started to question their entire existence.My only true reminders were my granite cold skin, and Christine. Alice was solid proof. Honest evidence that they truly had been a part of my very twisted past.

"Alice!” I gasped as I crushed her tiny little frame in my arms. “Bella!” she giggled at my enthusiasm. A sudden thought crossed my mind, and I grabbed that top of her arms holding her back searching into her honey colored eyes.

“Is he here, too?”

“Um…” she seemed very nervous about answering. I heard Christine gasp as her power came into play.

It was an odd power, one that I was unaware even existed. She could see what anyone was doing the moment that they were doing it. She had made many calls into the police department, reporting the place that a kidnapper had taken a child. Her give came in handy when she needed to find someone because she could see right away where they were.

She gave a slight nod at Alice, and Alice looked back to me.

She sighed. “He isn’t within a 1000 ft vicinity, but he is in the city.” She stopped, but she seemed flustered. There was something that she wasn’t telling me.“Alice…” my tone had a slight warning in it.

“He might have brought someone with him.” She squeezed her eyes tight waiting for the explosion... but it didn’t come.

I also most fell over with the shock. I felt NOTHING. Nada. Zip, zero, nilch.

I had been crying earlier, but I don’t think it was because I was in pain of possibly seeing him, but because of the pain of missing the memories. Of missing the rest of my family.

Alice was here now. The reminders were so vibrant and obvious. Did I honestly feel nothing for him anymore? Was I over him?I didn’t know, but I would find out.

“Alice… were is he?”

“The Mariot… penthouse sweet… 64 blocks away.”

“Thanks.”

I was running. I could feel Christine and Alice behind me, but that didn’t matter. I had to know I still felt nothing, and that scared me, because I had spent over 100 years crying over that jerk.

I would find out now if it killed me.I slipped in through the front doors of the hotel, and breezed by the front desk to the elevator.Then I was in front of his door.

I took a deep breath before knocking lightly. The door flew open and he stood there.A statue in my midst. I gasped. The sharp lines of his face were the same, his soft bronzy hair feel in the same style as always, yet he still looked different.

Wiser, almost haunted. And then I remembered why I was there.

I still felt nothing… was that possible. I didn’t love Edward at all anymore.